Tesco is facing Britain's largest ever equal pay claim and a possible compensation bill of up to 4 billion pounds (C$7 billion), according to a law firm which has begun legal proceedings. It comes as a campaign for equal pay grows in the U.K.

'Growing acceptance' for virtual training: Survey

There is a growing acceptance of virtual solutions for corporate training and HR applications, according to a survey by ON24 in San Francisco, provider of webcasting and virtual event solutions.

A majority (88 per cent) of more than 3,000 HR professionals in the United States stated virtual training lowers overall training costs and 85 per cent find virtual corporate training more convenient than in-person training.

More than 48 per cent of the respondents also said virtual training is more efficient and 77 per cent stated traveling to physical events is costly and time-consuming compared to logging on to a virtual event. In addition, almost 60 per cent stated retention rates for online training were equal to or better than in-person educational sessions.

On the environmental side, 56 per cent of ON24's survey respondents said online events are greener than in-person training meetings.

“Virtual training continues to gain mindshare and traction across a broad range of industries because it is a proven way to reduce expenses, increase convenience and provide a greener alternative to physical events," said Denise Persson, chief marketing officer of ON24.

Some 67 per cent of those surveyed agreed virtual environments allow HR professionals to allocate their time more efficiently overall and 62 per cent felt HR activities such as annual benefits enrolment and employee certification and testing programs would be easier if conducted online. More than one-half (54 per cent) cited the ease of conducting new hire orientation online.